The “Close Alien” problem is addressed in the book a few ways
- An ancestor to astrophage seeded life in nearby star systems from Tau Ceti. Humans and Eridians are distantly related, and there’s likely life in lots of stars within the astrophage’s range, but not necessarily throughout the whole universe
- Humans and Eridians are similar technologically, because a more advanced civilization could solve the astrophage problem without traveling to Tau Ceti, and a less advanced one couldn’t travel there at all
- Rocky has been around Tau Ceti alone for over forty years before the Hail Mary arrives
All very valid criticisms of the movie which apply equally well to the novel which was a decent read. I haven't seen the movie yet. I guess all stories like this have to relatable characters which would explain the similarities in cultures and the other differences are there because some suspension of disbelief is required to make a story work. However, I've heard that a good science fiction story takes one speculative premise or one big lie to make it work. Here you have pointed out, arguably, three potential big ones. If you haven't seen it you might want to check out Spaceman of Bohemia which oddly enough has a somewhat similar premise in which a solitary astronaut on a long term mission encounters an alien in his spacecraft also in the form of an arachnid! Both the novel and movie predate Project Hail Mary. I saw the movie and it is as I recall pretty strange and character driven film with a lot of introspection and backstory. The spider interacts with Adam Sandler's character (he is the astronaut) via telepathy. Really convincing effects.
The “Close Alien” problem is addressed in the book a few ways
- An ancestor to astrophage seeded life in nearby star systems from Tau Ceti. Humans and Eridians are distantly related, and there’s likely life in lots of stars within the astrophage’s range, but not necessarily throughout the whole universe
- Humans and Eridians are similar technologically, because a more advanced civilization could solve the astrophage problem without traveling to Tau Ceti, and a less advanced one couldn’t travel there at all
- Rocky has been around Tau Ceti alone for over forty years before the Hail Mary arrives
The effects might help, but aren't remotely enough explain the huge closeness in space and time.
Love the review. My takeaway after your last point is that the biggest problem with the science in Project Hail Mary just might be the social science.
From my friend, who is an astrophysicist and worked for 16 years as a research scientist in one of the largest academic institutions in the world.:
"It’s exactly my kind of novel: nuts-and-bolts hard science fiction packed with detailed (and mostly accurate) science...".
https://schroodle.com/p/project-hail-mary-is-a-christian
All very valid criticisms of the movie which apply equally well to the novel which was a decent read. I haven't seen the movie yet. I guess all stories like this have to relatable characters which would explain the similarities in cultures and the other differences are there because some suspension of disbelief is required to make a story work. However, I've heard that a good science fiction story takes one speculative premise or one big lie to make it work. Here you have pointed out, arguably, three potential big ones. If you haven't seen it you might want to check out Spaceman of Bohemia which oddly enough has a somewhat similar premise in which a solitary astronaut on a long term mission encounters an alien in his spacecraft also in the form of an arachnid! Both the novel and movie predate Project Hail Mary. I saw the movie and it is as I recall pretty strange and character driven film with a lot of introspection and backstory. The spider interacts with Adam Sandler's character (he is the astronaut) via telepathy. Really convincing effects.
Well said. Cannot argue with these observations.
That said, the Novel was an enormously enjoyable read … and I’m looking extremely forward to seeing the movie when I am in better health!!